Formerly titled "Lose Weight Look Great", this blog is now a journal of my work towards becoming healthier and more fit during my forties

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Finding the Point of Stillness

The key to successful meditation lies in performing a delicate balancing act. Your body must be held still, but without tension. You have to be relaxed, but not sleepy. Your mind needs to be receptive, but alert.

Central station - You might wonderhow you can do all these apparently contradictory things at once. In time it will happen of itw own accord if you just hold your mind fixed steady on one point of concentration.

This can be your breath. It can be an object, a word, a picture, such as an icon, or an idea. Whatever it is, the point of concentration is like an anchor in a stormy sea. For a long while the waves -- the restless thoughts -- surge around you and threaten to carry you away. But if you can hold onto the anchor long enough, the waves subside and the sea is calm. When this happens you experience a sublte, but important shift to an altered state of consciousness. There are no more interfering thoughts, just a gentle peace and an all-encompassing tranquillity.

You will have arrived at the still center, sometimes symbolized as a dot within a circle. This is the place where you become at one with your inner being.

Calm in the Storm

As you persevere, the elusive moments of total peace will become easier to reach. This peace will impact on the rest of your life.

Sacred Space

Meditation takes us to the sacred place within us. This is the place where mystics journeyed to commune with spiritual powers.

Sea of Troubles

The way to the center of our being is strewn with turbulence. It takes perseverance to endure the storm.